TIFF 2005 FILM FEST DIARY

9-18-2005—The prizes are announced, and for some reason Justin Timberlake is still loitering in town 9-17-2005—Gay hippopotamuses and last-day audience lethargy 9-16-2005—Advice: Don't insult Canada whilst in a Toronto movie theater! 9-15-2005—A lucky fest-goer scores from the kindness of strangers 9-14-2005—Sleep-deprived, Vickie walks out on Kevin and Colin's bits and pieces 9-13-2005—Self-proclaimed "fags and fag-hags" make for the most entertaining Q&As 9-12-2005—Maggie Gyllenhaal and Vickie finally meet! (well, sort of) 9-11-2005—Thank You For Smoking smokes up TIFF 9-10-2005—OMG! Catherine Keener in person! (and The Penis makes yet another festival appearance!) 9-9-2005—Imagine Me & You falling in love, and it's only Day Two! 9-8-2005—Day One: How to pack your festival bag (Altoids, anyone?) 9-5-2005—Even Order Pick-Up Day goes amazingly smoothly! 9-3-2005—Attending The Big Event (the lottery draw, that is) 9-1-2005—It has begun: The program is handed out, the movie-selection begins

Shhhh.

Hear that?

No, not that.

That.

The distinct sound of building excitement and anticipation! The sound of theaters being readied, and velvet ropes being erected, and tickets being printed and movie fans literally salivating over the 30th annual Toronto International Film Festival!

As anyone who read my 2002, 2003 or 2004 festival diaries knows, this is my absolute favorite time of year. It’s like Christmas and my birthday rolled into one, only with fewer presents and a lot more standing in line.

The fest has some 330+ films on deck this year, with a whopping 109 world premieres and a GIGANTIC list of celebrities expected to attend. You can read the official—and very poorly formatted—list here, but I’d just like to point out that Toronto will not only see Maggie Gyllenhaal in town this September, but also Catherine Keener (OMG!!), Cate Blanchett, Steve Martin, Justin Timberlake, and a whole host of people who don’t require last names (Gwyneth, Annette, Orlando, Viggo, Charlize and Liza!). Seriously, there’s a ridiculous amount of talent heading this way… I may pee in my pants multiple times before the festival is over.

I won’t bore you with another rant about the ticket lottery—it’s still in place and hasn’t changed since my Great Rant of 2002, so you can just click there to read it again. Always worth a quick look, especially for festival newbies, is the list of what to do and not to do while enjoying TIFF. And, for anyone who wants an official guide to TIFF 2005, surf over to the fest’s home page, where you can look up films, order tickets, check schedules and weep over the insane pricing and surcharges.

Back for 2005 will be Line Buzz, Celebrity Sightings and (cue the chorus of angels!) my annual quest to spot Roger Ebert. After the severely disappointing Ebert-free 2004, I’m hoping for a much better showing this time around.

One final, but VERY VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: for some inexplicable and possibly psychotic reason, our webmistress Linda has decided to GO ON VACATION (what the hell!?!) during the first few days of the festival. (I know, right? Seriously. Where are her priorities?!?) As such, the first TIFF 2005 diary entries will be posted over at Moviepie Musings. There won’t be fancy graphics and cool pictures or anything, but the entries will be updated daily to keep you informed on what’s been happening.

And that’s that! Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you line!

FESTIVAL MOVIE REVIEWS:

Recommended! A red arrow means that Vickie rated the movie six (out of eight) slices or better.

The numbers following the title show Vickie's rating of the film; i.e. (5/8), means five out of a possible eight slices.

3 Needles (Canada) (3/8)    50 Ways of Saying Fabulous (New Zealand) (3/8)    Backstage (France) (5/8)    Bam Bam and Celeste (USA) (5/8)    Capote (USA) (5/8)    Cold Showers (Douches Froides) (France) (5/8) Corpse Bride (UK) (6/8)    Dave Chappelle's Block Party (USA) (5/8) The Devil & Daniel Johnston (USA) (6/8) The Heart of the Game (USA) (6/8) Imagine Me & You (UK / Germany) (8/8) In Her Shoes (USA) (6/8)    Lie With Me (Canada) (2/8)    The Mistress of Spices (UK) (4/8) Mrs. Harris (USA) (6/8) Mrs. Henderson Presents (UK) (6/8)

North Country (USA)(5/8)    One Last Thing (USA) (5/8) Pic Up the Mic (USA) (6/8) Proof (USA) (6/8)    The Quiet (USA) (5/8) Runaway (USA) (7/8)    Sorry, Haters! (USA) (5/8)    Summer in Berlin (Germany) (5/8) Thank You For Smoking (USA) (7/8)    These Girls (Canada) (5/8) Transamerica (USA) (6/8)    Trust the Man (USA) (4/8)    Twelve and Holding (USA) (5/8) The White Masai (Germany) (7/8)    Whole New Thing (Canada) (4/8) Winter Passing (USA) (6/8)